The Aftermath
by jareauprentiss
Summary: The untold story of the night following Jennifer Jareau's kidnapping and torture. / JJ/Hotch pairing.


**A/N: New Jotch one shot! Shout out to my jotch gc babes for always supporting my fics! I hope everyone enjoys this! Please comment/fav this story :) xx**

 _The Aftermath_

It had been five hours since everything happened. Five hours since her team found her. Five hours since she relived the pain of losing her baby. Five hours since she was tortured. Yet, here she was, five hours later, sitting on the shower floor staring down at the cuts and purple marks that covered her body. Her body didn't even feel like her body anymore, it seemed more like something foreign.

She graced her fingers over the bruises and cuts as the steaming water flowed down from the showerhead. The marks were so new and she could place each mark with every excruciating moment in that dark room. She felt ashamed of her body, it was like she was now tainted by the man who inflicted all this pain upon her. She thought she was okay, after Emily and Hotch found her she had felt safe, but sitting here staring at her abused body, she felt _broken_.

* * *

Aaron Hotchner arrived at Jennifer Jareau's house around 3am. He knew she wouldn't be asleep considering they had all left the bar only two hours ago and she was really shaken up after they found her in the warehouse. After getting home from the bar, Hotch had contemplated whether or not he should go check on JJ. He knew she was strong, there was no doubt in his mind that she could take care of herself, but she lived alone and he was worried. After making up his mind nearly an hour later he grabbed a few things and left.

Now, here he was, standing on Jennifer's front porch at three am. He knocked on the door a few times but there was no answer. He decided to knock again a little louder, hoping she would hear him but alas to no avail. After waiting a few more moments, he tried to open the door and found it unlocked. It didn't surprise him all that much considering JJ lived in a good neighbourhood but it still worried him.

After opening the door he entered the house to find it nearly silent besides the hum of a shower in the distance. Aaron decided he should leave, not wanting to disturb the blonde, but he then heard a familiar noise coming from upstairs. His mind immediately registered that Jennifer was crying and he sprinted up the stairs to the bathroom. He knocked once so she would know someone was there but didn't leave much time for her to answer before he entered the room. What he found when he opened the door made his heart shatter into a million little pieces.

There, curled up on the tiled shower floors hugging her knees to her body, was Jennifer Jareau. She was sobbing quietly while her body shook. The steaming water sprayed softly onto her body as she sat there, completely broken.

Aaron stared at the blonde for a moment before jumping into action. He immediately hopped into the shower, completely clothed, and engulfed the blonde in his arms. Her body shook with sobs and he tightened his grip around her fragile body while whispering reassuring nothings in her ear.

"Shhhh, it's okay. You're okay," he whispered as she gripped onto his arm, crying into his shoulder. "I got you, Jen. It's okay, I'm here," he told her and with that she began to cry openly. He continued to hold her while rocking back and forth.

"That's it Jennifer. Just let it out," Hotch continued to tell her. She began to calm down after a few minutes and Aaron turned off the shower while grabbing a towel. He wrapped her in the towel as her body shook from the cool air that was now engulfing her. She shivered as he wrapped his arms around her and lead her back into her bedroom. He lead her over to her bed and sat her down on the edge while grabbing the sweatpants and tshirt off the bureau that he assumed she had laid out for herself.

It was completely silent while JJ dressed herself and she refused to make eye contact with Hotch. She was grateful he had shown up when he did, but she was also embarrassed. She didn't want him to think any less of her just because she had a minor breakdown. She was strong, and she never wanted someone to think she was weak. He could tell she felt self-conscious from the way she crossed her arms across her chest and sat back on the edge of the bed, still refusing to make eye contact. He slowly moved towards her, sitting only a small distance away from her while placing his hand on her knee. She immediately flinched at the sudden movement but then relaxed into the warmness his touch was providing.

She still refused to look at him so Aaron took it upon himself to make eye contact with her. He softly moved a strand of hair behind her ear and she turned to face him. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears as blue orbs locked with brown ones. They sat like that for a few moments in comfortable silence before Hotch spoke.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked quietly refusing to break eye contact.

"I just feel so weak... so broken," JJ replied in a barely audible voice. Aaron stared deeply into the blue eyes that were searching his face for a reaction. He could see everything in those eyes he adored. There was pain, strength, weakness, courage. God, she was the strongest person he knew. After Foyet he had dealt with all of his pain alone and it had almost destroyed him, but he wasn't going to let her deal with this alone. She didn't need him, he knew that, but he wanted to be here for her.

"You look exhausted, Jay. Maybe you should sleep," he told her as her eyes bulged in panic. "It's okay. I'll be here when you wake up and we can talk about everything, but you really need to rest. You've been through hell today."

"I'm not that tired," she mumbled in response as she laid back on the bed. "Will you lay with me?"

"Of course," he responded while he laid back on the bed wrapping her small body in his arms. "Go to sleep, Jennifer."

"Mmkay, thank you for everything Aaron," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

Aaron ran his fingers through Jennifer's hair as she slept. She was so peaceful and occasionally mumbled incoherent nothings while she slept. Hotch found those small noises absolutely adorable and he couldn't help the smile that was plastered on his face watching the small blonde wrapped his arms while she slept. He must have sat like that for hours, perfectly content holding the blonde while she slept, but after awhile JJ began to stir in her sleep. Stirring turned to thrashing, thrashing to screaming. Hotch tried to calm the down the terrified woman but his heart was breaking into a million tiny pieces as he listened to the blonde scream out in pain from the nightmare. He knew she was probably reliving what happened in that warehouse and he just wanted to make all the pain stop. She was beginning to panic, taking in short breaths, and Hotch knew he needed to wake her.

"Jennifer! Jennifer wake up! Come on, come back to me, Jen! Wake up!" he nearly shouted while still holding the blonde. Doing the only thing he could think of to get her to stop panicking, he pulled her in for a kiss. It was a deep kiss, but it wasn't forced. After a few seconds Jennifer reciprocated the kiss, kissing back deeper. She tangled her hands behind his neck and his hair as he placed his hands on her hips pulling her in closer. The kiss lasted for what felt like an eternity until the two had to break apart to catch their breath. After they parted Hotch looked into the deep blue orbs that stared at him questioningly.

"You were… Uh, you were panicking. That was the first thing that came to my mind to get you to wake up. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" he was cut off by JJ's lips pressing against his own.

"Thank you," she said leaning her forehead against his. "I needed that."

He smiled at her as she nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck. He embraced her small body in his arms and laid them both back down against the pillows. "You're so beautiful Jennifer," he whispered as she tightened their embrace.

"Mhmmm, I love you, Aaron," she responded sleepily.

"I love you too, Jen," he whispered as the blonde drifted off the sleep. The two stayed in their embrace throughout the night, and for once Jennifer slept through the night. She was at peace with her demons and wrapped in the arms of the man she had yearned for for years. They really were meant to be.


End file.
